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@uitritA gtst-rs @anni @ffice RICHARD H; HILTON, or NEW'BERN, VNORTH CAROLINA, AssIeNOniTO MITCHELL e ALLEN, or SAME PLACE.

Lettere Patent o.i"(4,82`2, dated February 25, 186'8.

IMPROVEMENT INMACHINB son CLsANINe COTTON.

To ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:A

Be it known that I, RICHARD H. HILTON, oi' Newberzninthe county `of Craven, and State of North Carolina, have invented a ncw` and improved Machine for Cleaning Cotton; and I-do hereby declare that -the i'ollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to makeand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of this specification, in which- Figure 1`isa vertical section of my improved machine.

Figure 2 is a front view of the same.,v

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.' Y

i This invention relates to an improved machine for cleaning cotton from dust, and consists ot a perforated case into whichi'the cotton is fed from the cotton-gin, together with rollers, for the purpose of eje'cting the, cleaned cottonin the form of a sheet or pressed web, more convenient for packing, with otherdcviees perfecting the whole, as will be hereinafter more fully setforth. l y y In the drawings, A is the perforated case attached to the delivery-end of a cotton-ginby any suitable means. Brepresents suclrdelivery-end having the case attached thereto, as shown, so that the ginned cotton 'passes into the case A, and the current of air produeodjby the operation of the cotton-gin drives oit the dust from `the cotton, and thus leaves it in `aclean state. The passage of the dust through the perforations is indicated by the rcdnrrows. -Rollers 'E are set in bearings, as shown at lthe lower part of the case A, and are operated by a belt fromsornc pulley on the gin, which drives the grooved pulley G, keyed on one end ofjone of" the rollers, as shown. The rollers are for the purpose of withdrawing and ejec'ting the cotton from the case, and in so doing, compress the same in a continuous compact web Or"sheet, which prevents the cotton frombeing blown about and wasted by the air-current, and also leaves the cotton in a better state for packing than when the same is in aleose bulk or pile'. The motion is communicated 'from one roller to the other by any of the devices known for the transmission of motion, as wood or rubber friction-wheels, cog-wheels, or -belts; or the rollers themselves maybe made to act in contact as friction-wheels, and thus dispense with other gearing. l The rollers may be tinted-or corrugated, to insure their revolution, if desired. A crossed rubber belt, F, is shownY in the drawings for the purpose of transmitting the motion from the upper roller, but, as before mentioned, other means may be employed. l In thc sides of the ease A is a'small perforated plate, a, one or more in each side, for the purpose of relieving the revolving brush of the gin of'ja return current,'if found requisite. A screen, D, hinged at the point e of the perforated platen, isvfor the purpose of catching the dust as it iiiesfoutward in that direction, and thus preventing it from falling' upon/the issuing cottonshown atm. The dust caught by this screen falls upon the curved surface n, which is left unpcrforated for that purpose, and from whence the collected dust can be swept ofi' laterally. In practice', the 'sides of the ease may be made of wood,

land curved, as shown, for having nailed or otherwise fixed thereonv the perforated shcets'b and d, which latter may be of tin or other sheet metal, or may be of wire netting, similar tothat of which coarse sieves are made.

The curve ol those perforated surfaces b and d is shown inproiile at iig. 1, and this form, although not intended in'any Way to limit the claim of the invention, is best Aadapted'to its'operati'on, as it enables `the entering cotton to be effectively acted upon and cleaned by the' current, and also secures the better action of rollers in withdrawing and ejecting the cotton. y l

My invention is simple,easily constructed, andrei' small cost, and by its employment thc lint-room, so called, as heretofore used, with its attendant disadvantages of waste, space, and expense, is obviated, and the cotton more electively cleaned than by any mechanism fonthe saine specific purpose. It can b e applied to any ofthe cotton-gins now in use with very small expense.

I claim as new, andV desire to secure by Letters Patent- Y l The S-shaped perforated plate l5, the perforated plate d, the sidev plates having perforaticns a, drawingrollers E E, and hinged screen D, all constructed and combined to operate as heroin described for the purpose speciiied. Y i

' RICHARD H, HILTON,

Witnesses:

J. L. H. MIssILLInn, WM. B. HUTGHINSON. 

